


Carry You

by annella



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hair Brushing, Injury, M/M, Turkstober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26771053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annella/pseuds/annella
Summary: Tseng comes back from a mission battered and bruised. Rufus takes care of him.
Relationships: Rufus Shinra/Tseng
Comments: 3
Kudos: 49
Collections: Turkstober 2020





	Carry You

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic for Turkstober 2020! This is for Day 2: Wounded. There’ll be more to come. This one is just a wee one to start with; watch this space for more. :)

The mission had been difficult. Rufus didn't ask for details—Tseng just shook his head when he asked how it had gone—but the bruises scattered across Tseng's torso, down his back, across his thigh, told enough of a story. They were dark red, mottled purple, angry and fresh, and Rufus growled softly when he saw them revealed.

"Nothing broken this time, I hope?"

Tseng shook his head as he fumbled with the buttons on his pants. "Bruised ribs. You should see the other guys."

Rufus let out a bark of laughter.

He had to help Tseng remove most of his clothes; his lover was stiff and sore and wincing with every movement. Tseng already used a Cure materia to fix up the worst of his injuries, including the split lip and the cuts on his knuckles, but he was left with a bone-deep ache that only time would heal.

"Shall I get some food sent up?" Rufus asked, his arms loosely around Tseng's waist as Tseng leaned against him, stripped down to just his boxer shorts.

Tseng shook his head. "I just want to sleep," he murmured, exhaustion lacing his words as he let his head fall back against Rufus’ shoulder. Rufus nodded, helping him stand up from the couch and move to the bedroom. He’d seen Tseng injured before, had sat by his side in hospital as he recovered from bullet wounds and worse, so this wasn't an uncommon occurrence. At least Tseng was well enough to be here with Rufus instead of lying in an uncomfortable hospital bed. 

Rufus could still remember a time when Tseng refused to show weakness around him. When he was stoic in the face of pain, unwilling to lower his walls enough to let Rufus take care of him. That had all ended the night Tseng took a bullet for Rufus and almost died, the night he woke up to find Rufus sitting by his bedside for the tenth straight hour, the night Rufus held his hand and wept, had vowed to never let Tseng get hurt for him again.

Rufus sat Tseng down on the edge of the bed and slid behind him, hairbrush in hand, legs spread wide around Tseng's narrow hips. Tseng let out a soft sigh as Rufus tugged the hair tie out, carefully freeing it from his tangled hair. 

"I can braid it for you,"he offered, and Tseng nodded silently. Rufus slowly dragged the brush down the length of his hair, gently working the tangles free until it was a smooth, shimmering curtain against his bare back. He kept going, knowing how much Tseng loved Rufus touching his hair, letting the bristles of the brush scrape his scalp and down to the ends of his hair, over and over until his hair shone. 

Rufus put the brush aside and combed his fingers through the long, smooth strands, enjoying the way it tickled a little, then moved his hands up to Tseng’s scalp. Tseng let out a soft moan as Rufus dug his fingertips in, massaging his head, rubbing away the stress. He concentrated his efforts on the sides, above Tseng’s temples, before moving down to the back of his head and pressing into the base of his skull to relieve any burgeoning tension headache. By the time he was done, Tseng was putty in his hands, almost asleep against his chest. All that remained to be done was for Rufus to braid it, and he deftly tied it back to keep it out of the way as they slept.

It was easy from there to shift Tseng into bed, already almost asleep, and even though it was early and Rufus had work to get on with, he stripped down to his underwear to join him. Tseng grunted as the bed shifted under him, and instead of going in for his usual clingy hug, Rufus settled for just laying next to him, his face pressed against the back of Tseng's neck, a hand resting gently on his hip. 

He didn’t fall asleep until he heard Tseng’s breathing even out, relaxed and sleeping soundly.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on twitter: sherribon. I talk about the turks a lot.


End file.
